Chapter 6

Audrey placed the empty crystal glass onto the marble island. The sharp clink echoed in the quiet kitchen. She turned and began walking toward the grand spiral staircase.

Before her foot hit the first step, a loud, violent crash shattered the silence from the second floor.

It was the sound of heavy porcelain shattering against hardwood.

"I hate you!" Willow's shrill scream followed the crash.

Audrey didn't run. She didn't panic. She walked up the stairs with slow, measured steps. She reached the second-floor landing and turned toward Willow's bedroom at the end of the hall.

The bedroom door was wide open.

In the center of the room, surrounded by jagged pieces of a shattered, antique Ming dynasty vase, stood Willow. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, her chin jutted out in a posture of absolute defiance.

"You never buy me anything!" Willow screamed as soon as Audrey stepped into the doorway. "Kelsey bought me the limited-edition anime figure today! You wouldn't even know what it is! Dad is right about you!"

Audrey stopped at the edge of the debris field. She looked at the broken porcelain, then up at her daughter.

"What exactly is your father right about?" Audrey asked, her voice dangerously calm.

Willow sneered, emboldened by the lack of immediate punishment. "He says you don't do anything but spend his money! He says you're useless! You're not even half the woman Kelsey is!"

A day ago, those words would have sent Audrey into a spiral of tears and self-doubt. Today, they felt like nothing more than the buzzing of a particularly annoying insect.

Audrey stepped over the sharp shards of porcelain. She walked right up to Willow. She reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone, and opened her banking app.

She tapped the screen a few times, pulling up the joint credit card statements. She shoved the glowing screen directly into Willow's face.

"Look at it," Audrey ordered.

Willow blinked, her eyes focusing on the long list of transactions.

"The money your beloved 'Kelsey Auntie' used to buy you that toy today," Audrey said, her voice dropping to a freezing whisper, "came from a supplementary card linked to your father's primary account."

Audrey swiped the screen, showing the massive, draining balance of the joint account.

"Do you know what this means, Willow?" Audrey asked, her voice dropping to a freezing, agonizing whisper that carried all the weight of her shattered heart. "Every single cent she spends on those toys, every dollar she uses to play 'Mommy' with you, is half mine. She is using my money to steal my daughter. Do you think that's funny? Do you think she actually loves you, or is she just buying you with my bleeding veins?"

Willow's mouth opened, but no sound came out. The harsh, undeniable logic of the financial statement short-circuited her tantrum. Her face flushed a deep, humiliating crimson.

Unable to win with words, Willow resorted to violence. She spun around, grabbed a heavy hardcover textbook off her desk, and hurled it directly at Audrey's head.

Audrey didn't flinch. She simply tilted her head to the side. The heavy book flew past her ear and slammed into the drywall with a loud thud, dropping to the floor.

Audrey looked at the book, then back at Willow.

"Effective immediately," Audrey said, her tone entirely businesslike, "your monthly allowance is zero. Your supplementary credit cards are frozen. The driver will no longer take you to the mall."

"You can't do that!" Willow shrieked, her voice cracking. "I'll tell Dad! He'll stop you!"

Audrey crossed her arms over her chest. A cold, mocking smile played on her lips.

"Go ahead," Audrey challenged. "Call him. Let's see if the man who is currently playing house with his mistress has the time or the inclination to deal with your tantrums."

Willow's hands balled into fists. She glared at Audrey with pure hatred.

"I'm giving you the silent treatment!" Willow declared, her voice shaking with rage. "I am never calling you Mom again!"

"Good," Audrey said without missing a beat. "That saves us both a lot of fake pleasantries."

Audrey turned on her heel and walked out of the room.

In the hallway, Rosa, the live-in nanny, was hovering near the staircase, her eyes wide with shock. She had heard everything.

Audrey stopped in front of her.

"Rosa," Audrey said sharply.

Rosa jumped. "Y-yes, Mrs. Christian?"

"Starting tomorrow morning, you are no longer to do Willow's laundry. You are not to clean her room, and you are not to prepare her snacks," Audrey commanded. "She is ten years old. If she wants to live here, she can act like a functional human being. Am I clear?"

Rosa swallowed hard, intimidated by the sudden, terrifying authority radiating from the woman she had always considered a soft touch.

"Yes, ma'am. Perfectly clear."

Audrey walked past her, entered the master bedroom, and locked the heavy door behind her.

She walked over to the mahogany desk near the window and opened her laptop. The screen glowed in the dark room. She opened a secure cloud folder and pulled up the scanned PDF of the prenuptial agreement she had signed three years ago.

She scrolled past the asset division clauses, her eyes scanning the dense legal jargon until she found what she was looking for.

Section 8: Marital Fault and Asset Forfeiture.

It was a hidden, highly specific clause Colton's lawyers had buried deep in the document, likely to protect Colton from Audrey if she ever cheated. But the wording was reciprocal.

Audrey's fingers flew across the keyboard. She opened a new document and began drafting the core demands for her divorce settlement.

She was going to bleed him dry.